When Dr Who started in November 1963, the Dinky toy company was already
producing a toy police box. It is quite accurate in its detailing, and the
call panel and St John's Ambulance badge are on one row lower than on
the TARDIS-type police box. This is because the Dinky police box is based
on the Mark 1 police box, whereas the TARDIS is based on a later
design. These models turn up quite frequently on eBay. The two examples
shown here have different coloured roof lights.

Here is another well-detailed metal police box, quite similar to the Dinky
toy but slightly larger. There are no manufacturer's marks of any sort on
this model, although it has been suggested to me that the manufacturer is
either Budgie or Triang. There is no call panel, and the St John's
Ambulance badge has been applied slightly off-centre. I acquired this
model in an eBay auction.

This model is a casting in some lightweight resin of a Dinky police box, even
down to the call panel and St John's Ambulance badge being on the lower
row. I bought this model is a now-closed-down comic shop in central London
sometime around 1985. There was no packaging to indicate who the
manufacturer was.

These models by Britannia Miniatures are perhaps the most accurate in my
collection. Although the outer two models look identical they do in fact
have different coloured roof-lights, whereas the centre model is obviously
a lighter shade of blue completely.

I bought this model through yet another eBay auction. The seller was in
Australia, so this model probably qualifies as the most well-travelled in
my collection. I have seen this model twice on eBay, though described in
one auction as a 1950's scenery accessory for Hornby model railways, but in
the other as a decoration to perch on top of one's pencil. The model is made
of metal, although the details are printed on paper and attached as a
wrap-round label. The proportions are slightly wrong, as this model is too
tall for its width. The windows are also wrong, being three rows of two
rather than two rows of three. As far as I can tell, this model bears no
manufacturer's markings.

I found out about this model made by Anchor Cottage Collectables after seeing
a posting about it in the early 1990's on the rec.arts.drwho newsgroup.
The model is on a paved-stone-effect plinth, with greenery in the background.
There is no call panel or St John's Ambulance badge, and the door handles
are horizontal rather than vertical. There is also no door lock detailing.

These two models of identical size were made by Ainsty and marketed as model
railway scenery accessories. I bought the opaque model directly from the
manufacturer in 1998, and the transparent one from yet another eBay auction.
The proportions of these models make them appear too squat.

This is the smallest model in my collection, being only 15mm high. It was
made by Langley Miniatures.

This is a plastic police box made as money box, the coin slot being on one
of the far sides. The photograph shows a lack of panelling on the rear, and
is therefore possibly based on a Mark 3 police box. Only one side has a
"Police Public Call Box" sign, which on this example is incomplete. I myself
was not been able to determine the name of the manufacturer, or the year in
which it was made, but I got an email from a gentleman called Michael Dennis
in which he told me that this box was made in 1965 by Raphael Lipkin Ltd,
and came in a cardboard box with a black and white photograph of William
Hartnell on the side. It was sold as a "Dr Who Money Box", and sold for
4s/6d (25 pence in modern money).

I bought this resin model in the mid-1990's. The maker is unknown.

This model, made by Stevelyn & Co, was spotted on a dealer's table at the
Memorabilia Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (UK) in
September 2001. As can be seen, it's a fairly basic model with minimal
detailing. Although hollow, it is surprisingly heavy.

This model by Harburn Hobbies Limited is to the correct scale for OO/HO model
railway layouts. It was supplied ready-painted, and looks a little like a
scaled-down version of the Dinky toy.

I bought this teapot in the Covent Garden Tea House in central London
sometime in the early 1990's for around £30. This was actually the
second time that I had seen a police box teapot in this shop, the first time
being several years previously and I couldn't afford it then. The staff in
the shop were unable to find the original packaging, but the teapot bears
the rather cryptic mark "PQ96" on its base.

In 1992 the arcade pinball manufacturer Bally produced a Dr Who
themed game, and this is the police box from one of those machines. I
bought it in an eBay auction from a dealer in Sweden. The bulb on the top
is a type 555, operating at 6.3V.

This candle has obviously been based on the Dinky toy, even down to the call
panel and St John's Ambulance badge being on a lower row. I bought this
candle in yet another eBay auction, and I commented to the seller at the time
that I wasn't so sure about the wisdom of making a candle with a wooden
base! My father remarked that perhaps the wick should have been blue.

I bought this model over the Internet from a company in Chicago that markets
model tin soldiers. Some assembly was required, and the model also had to
be painted.

Not strictly speaking a model police box, these resin bookends still made
it into my collection. They were supplied already-coloured, and the only
thing that needed doing was the application of stickers comprising the
signage.